U.S. patent application number 14/102852 was filed with the patent office on 2015-03-12 for user-programmable channel store for video.
This patent application is currently assigned to YAHOO! INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is YAHOO! INC.. Invention is credited to ANTHONY CAFARO, PAUL NATHAN SCHLACTER, BART JACOB STEIN, ROBERT MICHAEL STEIN.
Application Number | 20150074533 14/102852 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52626792 |
Filed Date | 2015-03-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150074533 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CAFARO; ANTHONY ; et
al. |
March 12, 2015 |
USER-PROGRAMMABLE CHANNEL STORE FOR VIDEO
Abstract
A system and method for providing a more relevant user viewing
experience on a mobile device includes providing a video
application providing access to a virtual video channel store with
selectable tiles representing digital video content sources
(channels). A user is able to select channels from the virtual
channel store and interact with the selections within a graphical
user interface that enhances the channel viewing experience.
Inventors: |
CAFARO; ANTHONY; (NEW YORK,
NY) ; SCHLACTER; PAUL NATHAN; (BROOKLYN, NY) ;
STEIN; BART JACOB; (NEW YORK, NY) ; STEIN; ROBERT
MICHAEL; (NEW YORK, NY) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
YAHOO! INC. |
Sunnyvale |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
YAHOO! INC.
Sunnyvale
CA
|
Family ID: |
52626792 |
Appl. No.: |
14/102852 |
Filed: |
December 11, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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14020693 |
Sep 6, 2013 |
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14102852 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/719 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/4667 20130101;
H04N 21/4821 20130101; H04N 21/4312 20130101; H04N 21/41407
20130101; G06F 3/0486 20130101; G06F 3/04886 20130101; G06F 3/0484
20130101; G06F 3/04817 20130101; G06F 3/0482 20130101; H04N 21/8153
20130101; H04N 21/482 20130101; H04N 21/44222 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/719 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/0484 20060101
G06F003/0484; G06F 3/0481 20060101 G06F003/0481 |
Claims
1. A method for channel viewing on a mobile device, said method
comprising: using a processor device, performing steps of:
providing a configurable graphical user interface for channel
selection and viewing on a user's mobile device; providing with the
configurable graphical user interface a screen portion displaying
digital video content from a digital video content source
(channel); and providing within the graphical user interface a
channel dock comprising: navigational tools for manipulating the
digital video content sources (channels); channel icons
representing a selection of channels; and an icon selectable for
accessing a virtual channel store; receiving user input comprising
a selection of the icon for accessing the virtual channel store;
presenting the virtual channel store as a grid of selectable
channel tiles representing the channels available in said virtual
channel store; providing a recommendation of at least one channel
within the virtual channel store; receiving a command associated
with a selectable channel tile; updating the channel dock to
reflect the command; and providing the updated channel dock.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the command comprises
receiving user input representing a selection of the channel
associated with the selectable channel tile; and updating the
channel dock by adding the channel icon associated with the
deselected channel.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the command comprises
receiving user input representing a deselection of the channel
associated with the selectable channel tile; and updating the
channel dock by removing the channel icon associated with the
deselected channel.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving user input
representing a re-ordering of the selectable channel tiles in the
virtual channel store; re-ordering the channel icons associated
with the selectable channel tiles in the channel dock accordingly;
and rendering the channel dock with the re-ordered channel
icons.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein the re-ordering is performed by
dragging and dropping the selectable channel tiles.
6. The method of claim 3 further comprising tracking user
interaction with the channel dock.
7. The method of claim 6 further comprising updating a user profile
based on the tracked user interaction.
8. The method of claim 7 further comprising updating the
recommendation of the at least one channel based on the updated
user profile.
9. An information processing system for channel viewing on a mobile
device, said information processing system comprising: a user
interface configured for a mobile device; a processor device
operably coupled with the user interface; and a memory operably
coupled with the processor device, said memory having
computer-executable instructions comprising: providing with the
configurable graphical user interface a screen portion displaying
digital video content from a digital video content source
(channel); and providing within the graphical user interface a
channel dock comprising: navigational tools for manipulating the
digital video content sources (channels); channel icons
representing a selection of channels; and an icon selectable for
accessing a virtual channel store; receiving user input comprising
a selection of the icon for accessing the virtual channel store;
presenting the virtual channel store as a grid of selectable
channel tiles representing the channels available in said virtual
channel store; providing a recommendation of at least one channel
within the virtual channel store; receiving a command associated
with a selectable channel tile; updating the channel dock to
reflect the command; and providing the updated channel dock.
10. The information processing system of claim 9 wherein the
computer-executable instructions further comprise: updating the
channel dock by removing the channel icon associated with a
deselected channel when the command comprises a deselection.
11. The information processing system of claim 9 wherein the
computer-executable instructions further comprise: receiving user
input representing a re-ordering of the selectable channel tiles;
re-ordering the channel icons in the channel dock accordingly; and
rendering the channel dock with the re-ordered channel icons.
12. The information processing system of claim 11 wherein the
computer-executable instructions further comprise tracking user
interaction with the channel dock.
13. The information processing system of claim 12 wherein the
computer-executable instructions further comprise updating a user
profile based on the tracked user interaction.
14. The information processing system of claim 13 wherein the
computer-executable instructions further comprise updating the
recommendation of the at least one channel based on the updated
user profile.
15. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer
readable medium with computer-executable instructions stored
thereon, said computer-executable instructions comprising
instructions for: providing with the configurable graphical user
interface a screen portion displaying digital video content from a
digital video content source (channel); and providing within the
graphical user interface a channel dock comprising: navigational
tools for manipulating the digital video content sources
(channels); channel icons representing a selection of channels; and
an icon selectable for accessing a virtual channel store; receiving
user input comprising a selection of the icon for accessing the
virtual channel store; presenting the virtual channel store as a
grid of selectable channel tiles representing the channels
available in said virtual channel store; providing a recommendation
of at least one channel within the virtual channel store; receiving
a command associated with a selectable channel tile; updating the
channel dock to reflect the command; and providing the updated
channel dock.
16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the
computer-executable instructions further comprise: updating the
channel dock by removing the channel icon associated with a
deselected channel when the command comprises a deselection.
17. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the
computer-executable instructions further comprise: receiving user
input representing a re-ordering of the selectable channel tiles;
re-ordering the channel icons in the channel dock accordingly; and
rendering the channel dock with the re-ordered channel icons.
18. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the
computer-executable instructions further comprise tracking user
interaction with the channel dock.
19. The computer program product of claim 18 wherein the
computer-executable instructions further comprise updating a user
profile based on the tracked user interaction.
20. The computer program product of claim 19 wherein the
computer-executable instructions further comprise updating the
recommendation of the at least one channel based on the updated
user profile.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of, and claims
priority to, commonly-owned co-pending U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 14/020,693, filed on Sep. 6, 2013, and entitled "Mobile Video
Channel-Based Gestural User Interface;" which application is
incorporated in its entirety as if fully set forth herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention disclosed broadly relates to the field of
video applications, and more particularly relates to the field of
user interfaces for video applications.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Digital media content is available in many forms through the
Internet. For example, Yahoo! Screen offers a wide selection of
video content digital media items from television (TV) shows, news
channels and a host of other digital content providers. The video
sources are arranged in rows, with each row representing a category
of video content (or "channel"). Within the rows, icons represent
the different offerings per channel.
[0004] This model is very similar to the way in which TV cable
companies package the channels provided to TV consumers. And, just
as with TV channels, the hundreds of digital channel offerings
provided to Web consumers may seem generous, but in reality this
seeming abundance causes frustration because viewers must search
through seemingly endless selections for the relatively few
channels that interest them.
[0005] There is a need for a digital content viewing experience
that addresses the above-stated shortcomings of the known art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Briefly, according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure, a method for channel viewing on a mobile device
includes providing a configurable graphical user interface for
channel selection and viewing on the user's mobile device. The
graphical user interface includes a screen portion configured for
displaying digital video content, and a channel dock. A virtual
store of video channels is accessed through the channel dock and
provides a grid of selectable channel tiles. The channel dock is
updated with any selections of channels from the virtual store
[0007] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure,
an information processing system includes: a user interface
configured for a mobile device (such as a touch-screen interface),
a processor device, and a memory. The memory includes
computer-executable instructions for providing a configurable
graphical user interface for channel selection and viewing on the
user's mobile device. The graphical user interface includes a
screen portion configured for displaying digital video content, and
a channel dock. A virtual store of video channels is accessed
through the channel dock and provides a grid of selectable channel
tiles. The channel dock is updated with any selections of channels
from the virtual store.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] To describe the foregoing and other exemplary purposes,
aspects, and advantages, we use the following detailed description
of an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure with reference to the
drawings, in which:
[0009] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary Channel Dock, according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0010] FIG. 2 provides a gallery view of video channel store tiles
in a channel view graphical user interface, according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0011] FIG. 3 shows a close-up example of the channel information
feature, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0012] FIG. 4 shows an exemplary illustration of re-ordered channel
tiles, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0013] FIG. 5 shows an exemplary close-up illustration of the
channel sort feature, according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a high-level flowchart of a method for providing
selectable channels, according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure;
[0015] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the learning method for channel
recommendations, according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure;
[0016] FIG. 8 is a high-level depiction of a system in which the
Video App can be implemented, according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure;
[0017] FIG. 9 is a high-level block diagram of the hardware
components required to implement the channel view, according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure; and
[0018] FIG. 10 presents a grid view of the Video App interface,
according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0019] While the disclosure as claimed can be modified into
alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of
example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It
should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed
description thereto are not intended to limit the disclosure to the
particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to
cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling
within the scope of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] Before describing in detail embodiments that are in
accordance with the present disclosure, it should be observed that
the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of method steps
and system components related to systems and methods for placing
computation inside a communication network. Accordingly, the system
components and method steps have been represented where appropriate
by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those
specific details that are pertinent to understanding the
embodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the
disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of
ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description
herein. Thus, it will be appreciated that for simplicity and
clarity of illustration, common and well-understood elements that
are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment may
not be depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of
these various embodiments.
[0021] The disclosed embodiments describe a method and graphical
user interface associated with an Application for generating a
store-like experience around selecting and re-ordering digital
video content on a mobile device. The graphical user interface can
be rendered on a device such as a mobile device when the
Application is loaded. Through the use of the graphical user
interface, a user may easily navigate among different information
sources such video channels, as well as content items available
from those information sources, such as digital video content.
[0022] In addition, the graphical user interface provided with the
Video Application (App) can be configurable, enabling the user to
select those information sources and/or content items to be
presented via the graphical user interface. Such a configuration
may be performed by establishing configuration preferences via the
user device or another device. Alternatively, the configuration may
be automatically generated based, at least in part, upon a user
profile. In some instances, the configuration may be a default
configuration.
[0023] The configuration may be associated with the user device
(e.g., mobile device) via which the configuration preferences have
been established, a particular user (e.g., the user who established
the configuration preferences or a child of the user), or one or
more specified user devices (e.g., mobile devices) to which the
configuration preferences are to be applied (e.g., the user's
mobile phone and tablet). The configuration preferences may be
stored by a server(s). The configuration preferences may also be
stored locally at the user device via which the configuration
preferences have been established or the user device(s) to which
the configuration preferences are to be applied.
[0024] In this disclosure, a channel is a digital video stream of
content from video creators such as ABC News, Martha Stewart,
Saturday Night Live, and the like. The "Channel Store" is a virtual
store providing digital video channels for user consumption.
Selecting/deselecting channels within the Channel Store configures
a Channel Dock provided with the Video App. The Channel Dock
operates like a remote control for the Video App. Although the
Channel Dock is initiated with pre-loaded video channels, it is
configurable to the user's personal video preferences. With the
Channel Dock, viewers can effectively customize their digital
content viewing experience on their mobile devices by navigating a
virtual video channel store and selecting/deselecting channels as
well as re-ordering them within a new viewing experience.
[0025] FIG. 1--Channel Dock Core View.
[0026] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when a user
first loads the Video App, a video channel is presented, along with
the customizable Channel Dock. The Channel Dock allows mobile
device users to easily discover new sources of digital video
content, learn more about the content, and select/deselect the
content. There are different ways to find video content of
interest. For example, the Channel Store provides "Featured
Channels" featuring the currently popular channels from among
various categories, such as News, Sports, Comedy, and the like.
[0027] Referring now to the drawings in general and to FIG. 1 in
particular, there is shown an example of the Video App Core View
100 that a user might see when first loading the Video App. The
Core View 100 is divided into two main sections: a video section;
and the Channel Dock 150. FIG. 1 shows a video 105 from the
"Comedy" category rendered in the video section in full screen
mode. On the upper right-hand side of the screen there is shown an
icon 125 for entering grid view (shown in FIG. 10). To the left of
the video 105 there is shown a Channel Dock 150 rendered for
channel navigation. The Channel Dock 150 features navigation and
viewing tools 154 for manipulating the channels, such as a "Search"
feature. The Channel Dock 150 is shown here on a tablet device such
as an iPad.RTM. by Apple.RTM., but the concept can be implemented
on many different platforms. The Channel Dock 150 shown here is a
left-side navigation pod allowing the user to activate and interact
with video channels.
[0028] Also presented on the Channel Dock 150 are multiple video
icons 152 representing a subset of video channels. When the Channel
Dock 150 is first accessed, it may display only a few default
channel selections. As the user interacts with the Channel Store
and selects/deselects and re-orders channels, the Channel Dock 150
is updated to include those video icons 152 associated with the
user's personal selections.
[0029] The video channels that are associated with the Channel Dock
150 are played in the order that they are presented on the Channel
Dock 150 if no other options are selected. In other words, the
default mode for the Channel Dock 150 is to render the content of
the video channel associated with the first video icon 152, then
the next one, and so on. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the icon
152 associated with the currently displayed video channel is
rendered in a distinguishable manner. For example, in FIG. 1 the
icon for "SNL" is shown in brighter font than the other icons 152.
Other ways of distinguishing an icon are contemplated within the
spirit and scope of the disclosure. The user can re-order the icons
152 to change the order of the video channels, perhaps displaying a
"favorite" channel first.
[0030] Up to this point, the above-stated features of the Channel
Dock 150 are those described in commonly-owned, co-pending U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 14/020,693. We introduce a new feature
for the Channel Dock 150--an icon 155 (shown here as a "+" sign)
for entry into the Channel Store View (an example of which is shown
in FIG. 2).
[0031] Channel Dock 150. The Channel Dock 150, shown in FIG. 1 as a
vertical channel strip, enables a user to easily switch channels
from a plurality of different video channels by tapping the channel
icons 152 on the Channel Dock 150, where each of the plurality of
different channels is represented as a different icon 152 on the
vertical channel strip. The user may submit input with respect to
the Channel Dock 150, where the input indicates a direction of
navigation with respect to the plurality of rows. For example, the
user may click or swipe the Channel Dock 150 to navigate among the
plurality of channels. As the user swipes or otherwise interacts
with the Channel Dock 150, the channel may be automatically
changed. In addition, as the channel is changed, the content item
(e.g., video) that is rendered via the device may also be
automatically changed. For example, the first content item (e.g.,
video) for that row may be provided. As another example, where a
content item in that channel was previously being consumed,
rendering of the content item may resume at a point at which the
user previously stopped or paused the content item (e.g.,
video).
[0032] In this example, the Channel Dock 150 is a vertical channel
strip shown as a rectangular region displayed along the left side
of the rows of channel icons, where the rectangular region extends
substantially along the height of the display. Although the Channel
Dock 150 is shown at the left side of the display in this example,
this example is merely illustrative. Thus, the Channel Dock 150 may
be presented in a different position. In addition, the Channel Dock
150 need not be displayed within the graphical user interface 100
to enable the user to change channels using a gesture such as a
swiping gesture.
[0033] FIG. 2 Channel Store View.
[0034] FIG. 2 is an exemplary graphical user interface of the
Channel Store View 110 through which a user may select or purchase
one or more video channels from a plurality of channels. As stated
above with respect to FIG. 1, tapping the Channel Store View icon
155 (shown here as a plus sign "+") in the Channel Dock 150 renders
the Channel Store View 110. In this view, the user can select a
video channel from a grid of selectable channels in the Channel
Store. The channels are presented as selectable tiles 120 that
hover over the screen. The tiles 120 can be semi-transparent as
shown in FIG. 2 and feature branded icons that identify the
channels. In some embodiments, advertisements can be served within
the channel tiles. Information about a particular show can be
provided once the user has selected the channel and is viewing the
channel content. Closing out of the Channel Store View 110 brings
the user back to the core Video App view of FIG. 1.
[0035] In some embodiments, as the user navigates among the tiles,
a content item may be automatically rendered. In other embodiments,
the rendering of a content item may be triggered via a gesture or
other input of the user, such as a single or double tap on the icon
representing the content item.
[0036] The user may also choose to zoom in or out on a particular
content item. This may be accomplished, for example, by performing
a pinching or spreading gesture with respect to the corresponding
icon rendered in the graphical user interface.
[0037] The user interface rendered with the Video App may render a
content item after selection of the content item or after zooming
in on the content item. In the core view 100 shown in FIG. 1, the
content item may be rendered in substantially the entire display
area of a display of the device. The Channel Dock 150 or vertical
channel strip may continue to be displayed after or while a content
item is being rendered via the user device. At any time, the user
may choose to interact with the vertical channel strip (e.g.,
channel icon), which may enable the user to change channels or
access the gallery view 110 of the Channel Store shown in FIG.
2.
[0038] An advantage of the Channel Store View 110 is the ability to
re-order the selected channel tiles 120. This can be done by
dragging and dropping the tiles 120 into place as shown in FIG. 4
or by selecting the drop-down menu of sorting options 520 as shown
in FIG. 5. The tiles 120 can be sorted in alphabetical order, by
content, recently added, most popular, or a number of other
ways.
[0039] In one embodiment, each of the information sources
corresponds to a different source of videos. For example, some of
the tiles may correspond to television channels, some tiles may
correspond to web sites such as Flickr. Where an information source
corresponds to a television channel, each content item may
correspond to a show or an episode of a show. More particularly,
the content item may include a video or video clip. For example, a
video may include a show, while a video clip may include a portion
of a show such a sound byte or scene. A content item may be
identified by a title of the show, and may be further identified by
a title of a particular episode of the show. For example, an icon
representing the content item may include one or more titles such
as a title of a show and/or specific episode. In addition, the
channel may be identified in association with each of the rows. For
example, the icon of a content item may identify the channel
offering the content item. As another example, the first icon
within a given row may identify the channel associated with that
row.
[0040] In accordance with various embodiments, a user may scan and
browse content associated with information sources much like the
familiar way in which they browse television content. More
particularly, the user may perform a gesture such as a vertical
(e.g., upward or downward) swiping gesture to navigate (e.g.,
scroll) among the rows corresponding to various different
information sources. In this example, four different rows
corresponding to four different information sources are
illustrated. However, the configuration may include any number of
information sources. Where the configuration includes more
information sources and therefore more rows than can be presented
at the same time via the display, the user can perform a vertical
swiping gesture to scroll among the rows of icons within a larger
grid. In this manner, a user may flip between channels of
content.
[0041] FIG. 10--Grid View.
[0042] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure,
the core Video App view can be presented as a Grid View 1000,
rather than as a single video screen 105 as shown in FIG. 1. The
Grid View 1000 is activated by selecting the grid icon 125 from the
Channel Dock 150. When the Grid View 1000 is selected, the video
screen portion 105 of the user interface displays a grid view 1000
of multiple channels from the Channel Dock 150 as shown in FIG. 10.
You will note that although the Channel Dock 150 shows at least
eight different icons 152 representing channels, the grid view 1000
shown here displays only four of those channels to accommodate
screen size. The other channels can be selected by scrolling. It
should be noted that the four icons 152 (SNL, Comedy, Gaming, and
PopSugar) that are highlighted on the Channel Dock represent a
one-to-one correspondence with the four channels that are currently
active on the screen 1000. As the user scrolls up or down the icons
152 on the Channel Dock 150, selecting or re-ordering channels, the
grid view 1000 will change accordingly, showing the channels
associated with the featured icons 152. Conversely, changing the
order of the channels in the grid re-orders the channel icons 152
in the Channel Dock 150.
[0043] This grid view 1000 representation of the Video App displays
images 1020 (such as thumbnail images) representing the channels
that the user has selected and may also feature recommended
channels. As previously stated, the Video App will initially
present default channels. Each image 1020 in the grid view 1000 is
selectable for viewing and supports multiple commands. Selection of
an image 1020 for viewing will cause that video content to be
rendered on the device, in the same manner that selection of a tile
120 from the Channel Store View 110 will cause that video content
to be rendered. The images 1020 can be selected/deselected by
tapping.
[0044] FIG. 3--Channel Store Commands.
[0045] FIG. 3 shows an example of one of the commands available
with the Channel Store. For example, the information command,
activated by tapping the "i" icon, provides general information
about the programs associated with the channel. The channels can
also be selected/deselected for the Channel Dock 150 from this
screen.
[0046] FIG. 6--High-Level View.
[0047] Referring to FIG. 6 there is shown a high-level flowchart of
the Channel Dock 150 implementation, according to an embodiment of
the present disclosure. Beginning with step 610, when the user
first loads the Video App, a user interface including a Channel
Dock 150 and a screen section 105 displaying a default channel
selection (the core view shown in FIG. 1) is presented on the
mobile device. This Channel Dock 150 is now, in essence, the user's
remote control for video channels. Through interaction with the
Channel Dock 150, the user is able to select channels to view and
re-order them. It is possible that once the Video App is activated,
a user simply interacts with the video channels loaded on the
Channel Dock 150 without needing to access the Channel Store
110.
[0048] If, however, the user wishes to enter the Channel Store 110
by tapping the icon 155 on the Channel Dock 150, the system
receives the user input in step 620. Responsive to this input, in
step 630 the Channel Store View 110 is rendered on the user's
device (see FIG. 2). The Channel Store View 110 presents a varied
selection of currently popular ("trending") channels from different
areas: sports, news, dramas, and the like. These default channels
will vary according to viewing trends. In an alternate embodiment,
it is possible to populate the Channel Dock 150 with default
channels selected according to user profile parameters.
[0049] In step 640 the system receives the user's channel
selections/deselections. Responsive to the user's selections, the
Channel Dock 150 is updated to reflect the user's channel
selections. For example, assume that the Channel Dock 150 is
initialized with the video channels matching the icons 152 shown in
FIG. 1 (SNL, Comedy, Gaming, PopSugar, Food, Celebrity, News, and
the like). After perusing the Channel Store View 110, the user
deselects "SNL" and selects Fashion & Beauty and "The Onion."
The next time the Channel Dock 150 is rendered, it will show icons
for the previous channels, plus icons for Fashion & Beauty and
"The Onion" and will no longer show the icon for "SNL." The system
will continue to respond to the user's customization (sorting,
adding, deleting) in step 650 by re-configuring the Channel Dock
150.
[0050] FIG. 7--Channel Learning--Referring now to FIG. 7, as the
user interacts with the Channel Dock 150, it will "learn" the
user's preferences and provide recommendations based on the learned
preferences. For example, in step 710 the "Featured Selections"
that the Channel Store View 110 graphical user interface initially
presents to a user upon activation will default to a compendium of
currently popular channels.
[0051] In step 720 the system logs the user's interactions with the
Video App, in particular the consumption of the content items. More
particularly, the user device (e.g., mobile device) can be
configured to dynamically gather information with respect to
content items that are consumed. This information may be similar to
that recorded when users access content provided on a web site.
More particularly, the information that is gathered via the user
device may identify information source(s) and/or content item(s),
indicate one or more characteristics of information source(s)
and/or content item(s) being consumed, user data pertaining to the
individual (e.g., user identifier), and/or other information (e.g.,
pertaining to interactions of third individual with information
source(s), interactions of the individual with content item(s),
and/or pertaining to circumstances surrounding the consumption of
the content item(s)). For example, the information may indicate a
number of times and/or period of time that the information
source(s) and/or content item(s) have been accessed. Similarly, the
information may indicate those information source(s) and/or content
item(s) that have not been selected or consumed, or consumed for
less than a threshold period of time.
[0052] In step 730 the user device can be configured to store the
parameters of the user consumption. The user device can be
configured to send this information to a remote server, which may
store this information to a data store. Accordingly, user
interactions with the user device or graphical user interface
provided thereon may be tracked and recorded. The parameters of
user consumption can include: the channel selected/deselected, the
commands executed, the program viewed, the time of day that the
program was viewed, and other parameters. After tracking the user's
interactions with the Video App graphical user interface, in step
740 the system can update the user profile with the stored data to
further personalize the user experience. For example, the user's
profile can be updated to show a preference for sports videos when
the user interaction indicates a greater than average selection of
sports channels.
[0053] The characteristics of a content item such as a video may
indicate information such as a primary subject or topic of the
content item, one or more key words, results of analysis of the
content item, one or more content categories indicating subject
matter to which the content item relates (e.g., family, fear,
comedy, drama), an identifier of the content item (e.g., URL,
title, date, and/or information source), the content item or a
portion thereof, and/or one or more individuals associated with the
content item (e.g., author, actor(s), producer, director).
[0054] The characteristics of an information source such as a video
channel may indicate information such as one or more content
categories to which the information source relates. Such content
categories may include, for example, sports, comedy, children,
nature, animals, news, crime, science fiction, etc. For example,
the characteristics may indicate that an information source
pertains to sports where the information source is a sports
channel.
[0055] As will be described in further detail below, the user
device can obtain, collect, generate, or otherwise receive
information that pertains to information sources and/or content
items that are accessed via the graphical user interface of the
user device such as a mobile device. This information may be
stored, enabling content to be personalized for an individual (or a
group of individuals) based, at least in part, upon one or more of
the characteristics of the information sources, one or more
characteristics of the content items, and/or a user profile of the
individual (or group). For example, the user profile may indicate
interactions of the individual with the information source(s)
and/or content item(s) (e.g., number of clicks, number of times
accessing a particular information source or content item, amount
of time spent accessing the particular information source or
content item, and/or circumstances surrounding the consumption of
the information source or content item). Information that may be
maintained in a user profile will be described in further detail
below.
[0056] In step 750 the system uses the modified user profile to
personalize video content recommendations to the user. One way this
can be done is through the Featured Selections tab 135 shown in
FIG. 2. The Featured Selections 135 can be updated to reflect the
user's interests as recorded in the user profile. In addition, the
Video App can present recommendations in the form of a message,
blurb, or ticker tape.
[0057] Personalization of the user experience may include
personalizing information sources and/or content items. Similarly,
the personalization may include providing recommendations for
information sources and/or content items. In some implementations,
information source(s) and/or content item(s) may be recommended
when the user accesses the Channel Store view 110. In other
implementations, such a recommendation may be provided by altering
the Video App interface presented to the user via the user device
(e.g., mobile device). The recommendation may indicate a particular
order or placement of the recommended information source(s) and/or
content item(s) within the Channel Dock 150 (e.g., within the
context of the user's pre-existing configuration preferences). For
example, the recommended information source(s) and/or content
item(s) may be highlighted using one or more display
characteristics such as a different color, brightness, or text
characteristics. The user may choose to accept the
recommendation(s) or reject the recommendation(s).
[0058] FIG. 8--High-Level System View.
[0059] Referring now to FIG. 8 we show a high-level depiction of a
system 800 in which the Video App 804 can be implemented. The
system 800 includes a mobile device 810 accessing the Internet 890
through a Mobile App Gateway 820. The Video App 804 is shown here
as an application loaded on and operating within the mobile device
810. The User Profile 815 is accessed by and updated by the Video
App 804. The user's interactions are stored in a Data Store 850
shown here as a remote data store. One with knowledge in the art
will appreciate that the Data Store 850 can be implemented within
the mobile device 810. The Video App 804 accesses video content 840
from at least one video source through the Internet 890.
[0060] The Data Store 850 may store digital content or references
to digital content. The content can be indexed for efficient
retrieval. In addition, the Data Store 850 may store information
such as the characteristics of information sources and/or
characteristics of the content, which may be stored in association
with the content. More particularly, the content may be a
collection of content or a specific content item, which may be one
of a plurality of content items within a collection of content. For
example, the characteristics of a content item may indicate
information such as an a title or other identifier of the content
item, date, a primary subject or topic of the content item, one or
more key words, results of analysis of the content item, one or
more categories indicating subject matter to which the content item
relates (e.g., fear, drama, family, comedy), and/or one or more
individuals associated with the content item (e.g., author,
actor(s), producer, director). Similarly, the characteristics of an
information source may indicate one or more content categories to
which the information source relates.
[0061] Content and/or characteristics of content within a
repository of media or multimedia within the Data Store 850 may be
annotated. Examples of content may include text, images, audio,
video, or the like, which may be processed or stored in memory. The
term "annotation," as used herein, refers to descriptive or
contextual content related to a content item, for example,
collected from a web site and stored in association with the web
site or the content item. Annotations may include various fields of
descriptive content, such as a rating of a content item,
circumstances or context pertaining to the consumption of a content
item, a list of keywords or categories associated with a content
item, etc.
[0062] In some embodiments, as an individual interacts with a
software application or a device such as a mobile device,
descriptive content such as, for example, a date and/or time, may
be identified and stored in the Data Store 850 such that the
descriptive content is stored in association with content.
Descriptive content may also be stored along with contextual
content. For example, how content came to be identified (e.g., it
was contained in a web page or was accessed via a mobile device)
may be stored in the Data Store 850 as contextual content
associated with the content. Contextual content, therefore, may
identify circumstances surrounding retrieval or consumption of
content (e.g., date or time a content item was received or consumed
and/or a source of the content item) and may be associated with
descriptive content in the Data Store 850. Contextual content, may,
for example, be used to subsequently search for associated
descriptive content. For example, a search for content items that
have been retrieved from a particular web site or consumed under
specific circumstances may be identified.
[0063] In addition, the Data Store 850 may include account
information (e.g., data) for a plurality of user accounts. Account
information may include financial information such as credit card
information, enabling goods or services provided in association
with the account to be purchased. In addition, the account
information may include information pertaining to goods or services
available to the user via the user account or used by the user.
More particularly, the account information may indicate an amount
and/or quality of the goods or services available to the user or
used by the user. In addition, the account information may indicate
a cost associated with the amount and/or quality of goods or
services available to the user or used by the user.
[0064] The account information may also include or be linked to
additional information pertaining to the user. which can be found
online. This user information or a portion thereof may be referred
to as a user profile. More particularly, the user profile may
include public information that is available in a public profile
and/or private information. Furthermore, the user profile may
include information that has been submitted by the user and/or
information that has been deduced or automatically collected by the
system (e.g., based upon user action(s)). For example, the user
profile may indicate a configuration of a graphical user interface,
which may indicate configuration preferences established by the
user, a default configuration, and/or configuration recommendations
provided by the system. In addition, the user profile may be
periodically updated as an individual consumes (e.g., views)
content provided via a web site or via a graphical user interface
such as that described herein while using a device such as a mobile
device.
[0065] User Profile 815. A variety of mechanisms may be implemented
to generate and/or update a user profile including, but not limited
to, collecting or mining navigation history, stored documents,
tags, or annotations, to provide a few examples. In addition, the
user profile 815 may be updated with information gathered as a
result of the use of the mobile device. A profile builder may store
a generated or updated profile. Through the use of user profiles,
for example, a web site such as a search engine provider may
retrieve annotations, tags, stored pages, navigation history, or
the like, which may be useful for making relevance determinations
of search results. In addition, further content to be provided or
recommended via a device such as a mobile device may be identified
using the user profiles.
[0066] The user information tracked by the Video App 804 can
include personal information such as demographic information and/or
geographic information. Examples of demographic information include
age and gender. Examples of geographic information include
residence address, work address, and/or zip code. Each time an
individual performs online activities such as clicking on a content
item (e.g., an advertisement or media item), purchasing goods or
services, sending messages, retrieving messages, accessing a media
item, posting information or content, or annotating content,
information regarding such activity or activities may be retained
as user data. For instance, the user data that is retained may
indicate the identity of web sites visited, identity of content
items (e.g., videos or advertisements) and/or information sources
that have been selected (e.g., clicked on) via the web site or a
graphical user interface, and/or a timestamp indicating a date
and/or time that the individual viewed or accessed the content
item. Thus, the information may indicate whether the individual
clicked on or viewed a content item (or information source) and, if
so, the number of clicks or views within a particular time period
and/or amount of time the content item (or information source) was
accessed by the individual. An individual may be identified by a
user ID (e.g., user account ID), information in a user cookie,
Internet Protocol (IP) address, and the like.
[0067] In some embodiments, each time a user consumes content while
using the mobile device such as that described herein, information
regarding such activity may be retained as user data. More
particularly, where a user consumes a content item such as a video
while using the device, that information is associated with the
user, where the information indicates: one or more characteristics
of the content item, a date and/or time that the content item was
consumed, information pertaining to interactions of the individual
with the content item (e.g., an amount of time spent by the
individual consuming the content item or number of times the
content item was accessed), information pertaining to circumstances
surrounding the consumption of the content item (e.g., weather, day
of the week, time of year, etc.), and/or a user identifier. The
characteristics of the content item may indicate information such
as a title or other identifier of the content item, a date, one or
more content categories indicating subject matter to which the
content relates, a primary subject or topic of the content, one or
more key words, one or more individuals associated with the content
item (e.g., author, actor, producer, director), and/or other
results of analysis of the content item.
[0068] While at least a portion of the information (e.g., an amount
of time spent by the user consuming a particular content item) may
be stored, information such as the characteristics of the content
item may be stored in association with the content item. The
information pertaining to the content item and/or information
source may be associated with each of the users that have consumed
(e.g., viewed) the particular content item (e.g., while using a
mobile device) by linking the record(s) or information to the user
profile of each of the users that have consumed the content item.
For example, the user profile of each of the users that have
consumed the content item may include a pointer to the record(s) or
the information.
[0069] Based upon the information recorded in user profiles of
individuals, a machine learning algorithm may learn how to identify
characteristics of information sources and/or content items that
may be of interest to individuals (or a similarly situated group of
individuals) in the future. In some embodiments, a machine learning
algorithm may be implemented to identify information sources and/or
content items that may be of interest to the user. Such a machine
learning algorithm may also assist in identifying an appropriate
placement of a content item (or information source) within a web
page or graphical user interface prior to the generation of the web
page or the graphical user interface.
[0070] FIG. 9 Hardware Embodiment.
[0071] Referring now to FIG. 9, there is provided a simplified
pictorial illustration of the hardware requirements for generating
and rendering the Video App 804 graphical user interfaces, in which
the present disclosure may be implemented. For purposes of this
invention, computer system 810 may represent any type of computer,
information processing system or other programmable electronic
device, including a client computer, a server computer, a portable
computer, an embedded controller, a personal digital assistant, a
Cloud computing device, and so on. The computer system 810 may be a
stand-alone device or networked into a larger system. Computer
system 810, illustrated for exemplary purposes as a mobile
computing device, is in communication with other networked
computing devices (not shown) via network 910. As will be
appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, network 910 may
be embodied using conventional networking technologies and may
include one or more of the following: local area networks, wide
area networks, intranets, public Internet and the like.
[0072] In general, the routines which are executed when
implementing these embodiments, whether implemented as part of an
operating system or a specific application, component, program,
object, module or sequence of instructions, will be referred to
herein as computer programs, or simply programs. The computer
programs typically comprise one or more instructions that are
resident at various times in various memory and storage devices in
an information processing or handling system such as a computer,
and that, when read and executed by one or more processors, cause
that system to perform the steps necessary to execute steps or
elements embodying the various aspects of the invention.
[0073] Throughout the description herein, an embodiment of the
invention is illustrated with aspects of the invention embodied
solely on computer system 810. As will be appreciated by those of
ordinary skill in the art, aspects of the invention may be
distributed amongst one or more networked computing devices which
interact with computer system 810 via one or more data networks
such as, for example, network 910. However, for ease of
understanding, aspects of the invention have been embodied in a
single computing device--computer system 810.
[0074] Computer system 810 includes inter alia processing device
902 which communicates with an input/output subsystem 906, memory
904, storage 910 and network 910. The processor device 902 is
operably coupled with a communication infrastructure 922 (e.g., a
communications bus, cross-over bar, or network). The processor
device 902 may be a general or special purpose microprocessor
operating under control of computer program instructions 932
executed from memory 904 on program data 934. The processor 902 may
include a number of special purpose sub-processors such as a
comparator engine, each sub-processor for executing particular
portions of the computer program instructions. Each sub-processor
may be a separate circuit able to operate substantially in parallel
with the other sub-processors.
[0075] Some or all of the sub-processors may be implemented as
computer program processes (software) tangibly stored in a memory
that perform their respective functions when executed. These may
share an instruction processor, such as a general purpose
integrated circuit microprocessor, or each sub-processor may have
its own processor for executing instructions. Alternatively, some
or all of the sub-processors may be implemented in an ASIC. RAM may
be embodied in one or more memory chips.
[0076] The memory 904 may be partitioned or otherwise mapped to
reflect the boundaries of the various memory subcomponents. Memory
904 may include both volatile and persistent memory for the storage
of: operational instructions 932 for execution by CPU 902, data
registers, application storage and the like. Memory 904 preferably
includes a combination of random access memory (RAM), read only
memory (ROM) and persistent memory such as that provided by a hard
disk drive 918. The computer instructions/applications that are
stored in memory 904 are executed by processor 902. The computer
instructions/applications 932 and program data 934 can also be
stored in hard disk drive 918 for execution by processor device
902.
[0077] The I/O subsystem 906 may include various end user
interfaces such as a display, a keyboard, and a touch screen. The
I/O subsystem 906 may further comprise a connection to a network
such as a local-area network (LAN) or wide-area network (WAN) such
as the Internet 890. Computer system 900 can access the Channel
Store 990 through the Internet 890.
[0078] The computer system 810 may also include a removable storage
drive 910, representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive,
an optical disk drive, etc. The removable storage drive 910 reads
from and/or writes to a removable storage unit 920 in a manner well
known to those having ordinary skill in the art. Removable storage
unit 920, represents a floppy disk, a compact disc, magnetic tape,
optical disk, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc. which is read by and written to
by removable storage drive 910. As will be appreciated, the
removable storage unit 920 includes a non-transitory computer
readable medium having stored therein computer software and/or
data.
[0079] The computer system 810 may also include a communications
interface 912. Communications interface 912 allows software and
data to be transferred between the computer system and external
devices. Examples of communications interface 912 may include a
modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a
communications port, a PCMCIA slot and card, etc. Software and data
transferred via communications interface 912 are in the form of
signals which may be, for example, electronic, electromagnetic,
optical, or other signals capable of being received by
communications interface 912.
[0080] In this document, the terms "computer program medium,"
"computer usable medium," and "computer readable medium" are used
to generally refer to both transitory and non-transitory media such
as main memory 904, removable storage drive 1120, a hard disk
installed in hard disk drive 918. These computer program products
are means for providing software to the computer system 810. The
computer readable medium 920 allows the computer system 810 to read
data, instructions, messages or message packets, and other computer
readable information from the computer readable medium 920.
[0081] Benefits and Advantages of the Video App 804 providing the
Channel Dock 150.
[0082] 1. Eliminates the need for a viewer to traverse a listing of
hundreds of channels to find a channel of interest.
[0083] 2. Viewers can sort and categorize their favorite channels
for a more engaging and relevant viewing experience.
[0084] 3. Channel selection/deselection is facilitated with a
simple tap of the channel tile.
[0085] 4. Channels can be re-ordered by dragging and dropping.
[0086] Monetization.
[0087] Some channels can be provided as pay channels. In addition,
advertisements can be served within the channel tiles, providing
the opportunity for advertising revenue.
[0088] Therefore, while there has been described what is presently
considered to be the preferred embodiment, it will understood by
those skilled in the art that other modifications can be made
within the spirit of the invention. The above description(s) of
embodiment(s) is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting in
scope. The embodiment(s), as described, were chosen in order to
explain the principles of the invention, show its practical
application, and enable those with ordinary skill in the art to
understand how to make and use the invention. It should be
understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiment(s)
described above, but rather should be interpreted within the full
meaning and scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *